Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts (1) In this
section —
injury includes alleged injury;
relevant document , in relation to a worker who
has suffered an injury, means any of the following —
(a) a
contract of service or apprenticeship to which the worker is a party;
(b) a
contract for service to which the worker is a party;
(c)
records of wages or other remuneration paid to the worker;
(d) a
report relevant to the injury by a health professional who has treated the
worker for the injury;
(e) a
report by a health professional who has conducted tests or investigations on
the worker in relation to the injury;
(f) a
report by a health professional who has been consulted by a health
professional referred to in paragraph (d) or (e) in connection with
treatment of, or tests or investigations in relation to, the injury;
(g) a
report under section 192(1) on the results of an assessment of the
worker’s degree of permanent impairment;
(h) a
report by an approved workplace rehabilitation provider in relation to the
worker;
(i)
a claim for compensation with respect to the injury made
in accordance with this Act;
(j) a
document of a kind prescribed by the regulations.
(2) A worker who has
suffered an injury from employment may request the worker’s employer at
the time of the employment, or that employer’s insurer, to provide the
worker with a copy of relevant documents that are in the possession of or
under the control of the employer or insurer.
(3) If a worker has
made a claim for compensation with respect to noise-induced hearing loss in
accordance with this Act, the worker’s employer or that employer’s
insurer may request WorkCover WA to provide the person making the request with
a copy of any documents in the possession of or under the control of WorkCover
WA that —
(a) are
of a kind described in paragraph (d), (e) or (f) of the
definition of relevant document in subsection (1); or
(b)
relate to the worker’s employment history or the worker’s exposure
to noise.
(4) A request under
subsection (2) or (3) must be made in accordance with the
conciliation rules or arbitration rules and must be complied with within the
period prescribed by the relevant rules.
(5) A request under
subsection (2) may be made by a legal practitioner or authorised agent
acting for the worker if the request is accompanied by a written authority
from the worker that authorises copies of relevant documents to be provided to
the legal practitioner or authorised agent.
(6) An employer or
insurer requested to provide a copy of a relevant document under
subsection (2) who fails to comply with the request within the period
referred to in subsection (4) commits an offence.
Penalty for this subsection: a fine of
$5 000.
(7) An arbitrator may
make an order requiring the production of documents that can be requested
under this section.